Friday, May 22, 2015

The other day a close friend of mine told me “ You
are so different from other writers. For one you aren’t arrogant and two you
don’t constantly talk of your stories and writing and three you don’t look down
on people and four you don't keep correcting people's mistakes.” To be honest I was very happy with his assessment, but I was also
unhappy about the view he had of writers in general. He also told me that his other
writer friends drive him crazy.

This fun post is triggered by that thought. How Writers
can Drive People Crazy?

Writers should talk
non-stop about their stories to family, friends, neighbours, acquaintances and
even strangers on the road, to the extent that people run away when they see
them.

Dinner table
conversations should only center around their stories. It should be me, my
stories and my characters. If family members start eating dinner in their
rooms, that’s their problem. The writer can still talk to an empty room as it
will be full of his or her characters.

If people call or
message us we should use the opportunity to our advantage by narrating our
plotline or revealing details of our stories. If people stop keeping in
touch, it’s really their loss. Writers can keep in touch with their characters.

Writers should start
calling people by the name of their characters. This way even when we aren’t writing
we will still be close to our characters.

Writers should accost
strangers on the road and tell them that they remind us of our characters,
especially our antagonists and eccentric characters. If writers get beaten up,
they should consider this a part of the writing life.

Writers should and must
start correcting people’s grammar and sentence structure. If people take offense
or consider it rude behaviour, that’s their fault. After all once we take up
the noble profession of writing, then it becomes our duty to correct people’s
grammar mistakes and guide them, even if they don’t want to be guided.

Writers should look
down upon non-writers. We who live in the world of words and stories cannot
afford to breathe the same air as the rest of the population.

Do you all want to add
any other way writers can drive people crazy? Feel free to do so in the
comments section.

P.S. This was a purely
fun post with no offense meant to anyone.

P.P.S. Be sure to check
back on 1ST June when Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh will share his
amazing tips on Developing Characters in our stories.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Sometimes the IWSG topic just drops into my head. At
other times I have to think long and hard. You guessed right. It’s the first
Wednesday of the month and it’s time for our regular IWSG post. Insecure
Writers Support Group, an online group of writers is a monthly hangout place
where we writers troubled by a million insecurities discuss our anxieties,
worries and writing problems with other writers. Other writers grappling with similar
issues and insecurities completely understand us and they support and encourage
us to stick to our writing and publishing path, inspite of all the odds stacked
against us.

The credit for creating this awesome and inspiring
group goes to Ninja Captain, Alex J Cavanaugh (author of the Amazon
Bestsellers: CassaStar, CassaStorm, CassaFire and Dragon of the Stars). Check out
the IWSG website for loads of useful information.

This month I want to discuss Giving in to Negative
Behaviour. I am one of the few writers who has very few writing friends in
India. Most of my writing pals are my blog buddies who are spread all over the
world. In a way I am glad that I have only online writing pals.

The reason I am saying this is because I met an Indian
writer online who I feel has only negative things to say about other writers,
editors, publishing houses and the few Indian literary agents.

Every comment she makes is spiked with acid and full
of insult. I have realized that she has only derogatory things to say about most
of the other writers who have been published. According to her if one doesn’t know
commissioning editors personally, one will never get published.

When I brought her behaviour to her notice, she
accused me of living inside a protective bubble, a bubble which made me blind
to all the politics, shenanigans and other crap that happens to writers.

I am not denying that there are all kinds of games
being played in publishing houses, where writers friendly with editors get
their books published faster than other writers who submit via the slush pile.
But, there is something called faith, faith in one’s talent that the slush pile
writers must have.

I seriously feel that rejection has reduced her to
this bitter state. Instead of working on her next lot of manuscripts, she
revels in pulling down writers and even the entire system.

In my case I don’t want to query with a cloud of
negativity shrouding me. I believe that good stories will find takers. I would
rather follow Roald Dahl’s advice- “Those who don’t believe in magic will never
find it.” I believe that my Publishing Fairy Godmother is beside me, scouting
around for publishing deals. Call it childishness or stupidity, but I want to
believe that there is a bright light at the end of my querying and submitting
tunnel. That all my books will sit on many bookshelves one day.

Have you ever met such a negative person in your
life? What would your advice to such a person be?

About Me

Welcome to my Scriptorium, my online Writing Room. I love to connect with other writers, so grab a chair, a cup of coffee, a bar of chocolate and we will discuss stories, books, writing, works in progress, characters, plots, marketing, titles and many other things related to writing and publishing.